Hessam Sane's router lift
Hessam Sane sent me some pictures of his router lift design, which was inspired by my router lift
Hessam's router lift is essentially a device to push a plunge router up, but with
the crank easily accessible. It's very similar in functionality to
Uli Proppe's router lift, but the screw elevating
mechanism is to the front as opposed to immediately below. This makes the router lift
suitable for mounting inside a router table cabinet, which Hessam also built.
The gearing to the threaded rod is almost the same as in the router lift that I built,
but this is where the similarity ends.
The lifting mechanism itself doesn't actually mount the router onto it. Rather,
it provides a platform on the back which pushes the router up. The platform
pushing the router up has to overcome the weight of the router plus the force
of the springs inside the plunge router.
The lift uses an M10 threaded rod (about 10 mm or 3/8" diameter).
The threaded rod has to withstand the leverage of the platform attached to it.
Two T-nuts in the block that the threaded rod goes through provide guidance and
prevent the threaded rod from wearing into the wood.
Hessam says that the mechanism is stiff and sturdy enough that locking the router's plunge
function is not strictly necessary.
I like how the router mounts under the table, which is hinged to the cabinet
at the back. This makes it easy to get at the router.
The router itself is not permanently mounted into the cabinet. Two steel rods
through holes in the base provide support. These steel rods were taken from
the router's original fence.
Closing the top of the router table
locks the rods in place. A cutout in the bottom of the top also ensures
that the router won't slide side-to-side on the rods in case one neglects to tighten
the screws for locking the rods in the base.
The top of the table and fence are made of plastic laminate coated plywood that seems to
be readily available in Germany. I don't know where one can buy that stuff in Canada.
I'd use it for my own jigs as well if I knew where to find it.
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